# Tomatoes won't ripen



## SamSpade

If my damned tomatoes would ever turn red, I'd have a bumper crop - but they're staying green! It's driving me crazy. I had the same problem last year with all but the cherry tomatoes. What's wrong? Can't be the amount of water.


----------



## Nanny Pam

Fried green tomatoes.


----------



## nomoney

my father in law's are rotting on the vine before they even turn red.....I have no clues either.


----------



## cattitude

Not enough sun?


----------



## Mikeinsmd

*The red color of tomatoes won't form when temperatures are above 86oF. * 

So, if you live where the summers get quite hot, leaving tomatoes on the vine may give them a yellowish orange look. It's probably better to pick them in the pink stage and let them ripen indoors in cooler temperatures.

http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/tomatoes_harvesting/374


----------



## Vince

:shrug:  Mine are getting ripe.  Just picked my first one a couple days ago and have 3 more almost ready.  Usually mine are coming ripe all at once and I've got tomatoes coming out of my ears.  Got peppers going crazy this year.


----------



## SamSpade

cattitude said:
			
		

> Not enough sun?


 
Normally - that'd be my guess. But this year I purposely planted the tomatoes in the sunniest part of my garden, which admittedly, still only gets full sun in the early afternoon until evening.

However, last year, my cherry tomatoes ripened just fine, and they didn't get anywhere near as much.

Still, that might be it - should I just pick a lot and let 'em ripen in the sun, off the vine?


----------



## Mikeinsmd

Mikeinsmd said:
			
		

> *The red color of tomatoes won't form when temperatures are above 86oF. *
> 
> So, if you live where the summers get quite hot, leaving tomatoes on the vine may give them a yellowish orange look. It's probably better to pick them in the pink stage and let them ripen indoors in cooler temperatures.
> 
> http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/tomatoes_harvesting/374


Tomatoes need warmth, not light, to ripen, so there's no need to put them on a sunny windowsill. Place them out of direct sunlight -- even in a dark cupboard -- where the temperature is 65 to 70F.


----------



## nomoney

Or put them in a brown paper bag, the speeds up the ripening as well.


----------



## greyhound

Tomatoes are getting to much water this summer. 

I say pick the green ones, lightly flour and fry. They are the best!!!!!


----------



## Railroad

SamSpade said:
			
		

> If my damned tomatoes would ever turn red, I'd have a bumber crop - but they're staying green! It's driving me crazy. I had the same problem last year with all but the cherry tomatoes. What's wrong? Can't be the amount of water.


 
SUN!


----------



## itsbob

SamSpade said:
			
		

> If my damned tomatoes would ever turn red, I'd have a bumber crop - but they're staying green! It's driving me crazy. I had the same problem last year with all but the cherry tomatoes. What's wrong? Can't be the amount of water.


Pull them off the vine put them into a brown paper grocery bag (no plastic does NOT work).. fold it closed, and put them under the sink in the kitchen.. wala ripe tomatoes..


----------



## Nanny Pam

greyhound said:
			
		

> Tomatoes are getting to much water this summer.
> 
> I say pick the green ones, lightly flour and fry. They are the best!!!!!


----------



## itsbob

greyhound said:
			
		

> Tomatoes are getting to much water this summer.
> 
> I say pick the green ones, lightly flour and fry. They are the best!!!!!


Isn't it hard to fry a round object. or are we missing a slicing step in there somewhere..


----------



## Nanny Pam

itsbob said:
			
		

> Isn't it hard to fry a round object. or are we missing a slicing step in there somewhere..


  silly you!


----------



## greyhound

itsbob said:
			
		

> Isn't it hard to fry a round object. or are we missing a slicing step in there somewhere..



No...fry the whole thing. You have never tried them that way?


----------



## Vince

You didn't plant "Late Keepers"  did ya?


----------



## SamSpade

Vince said:
			
		

> You didn't plant "Late Keepers" did ya?


 
Nope - Big Boys, Better Boys, Beefsteaks, Romas, Lemon Boys, some cherry tomatoes and Yellow Pear - which *are* ripening, albeit slowly. Little tomatoes are turning out ok, and the garden is yielding peppers, zucchini, and especially jalapenos with ease. 

If I'd only planted just jalapenos, I could LIVE on the amount coming out. I get a small bagful every single day, and I only have about eight or nine plants.


----------



## Vince

SamSpade said:
			
		

> Nope - Big Boys, Better Boys, Beefsteaks, Romas, Lemon Boys, some cherry tomatoes and Yellow Pear - which *are* ripening, albeit slowly. Little tomatoes are turning out ok, and the garden is yielding peppers, zucchini, and especially jalapenos with ease.
> 
> If I'd only planted just jalapenos, I could LIVE on the amount coming out. I get a small bagful every single day, and I only have about eight or nine plants.


 Yeah, I've got peppers of all shapes and sizes coming out of the garden.  Did some Mexibells this year.    HOT! HOT! HOT!


----------



## jazz lady

nomoney said:
			
		

> my father in law's are rotting on the vine before they even turn red.....I have no clues either.



If they're rotting on the bottom, it's blossom end rot and is caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil usually caused by excessive rain.  You can pick up a spray from any store or nursery specifically for this problem.  They contain calcium chloride which is applied to the plants and quickly fixes the problem on any fruits currently without the problem.  It will not fix those that already show signs of blossom end rot.


----------



## CityGrl

Bring em in and sit em in your window.


----------



## Speedy70

My grandma always sat them on the kitchen window ledge to ripen. :shrug:


----------



## greyhound

Speedy70 said:
			
		

> My grandma always sat them on the kitchen window ledge to ripen. :shrug:



Yeah...My Nanny did that too.


----------



## Gemmi

Speedy70 said:
			
		

> My grandma always sat them on the kitchen window ledge to ripen. :shrug:




My mom used to do that also.


----------



## Speedy70

greyhound said:
			
		

> Yeah...My Nanny did that too.



I didn't know that Nanny did that too.  I was referring to my other grandmother.


----------



## Gemmi

Nanny Pam said:
			
		

> Fried green tomatoes.




What do you dip em in, flour or something else?


----------



## greyhound

Gemmi said:
			
		

> What do you dip em in, flour or something else?



Coat them with flour that has been salted and fry in oil. The old way is to fry them in bacon grease. They are so sweet.


----------



## greyhound

Speedy70 said:
			
		

> I didn't know that Nanny did that too.  I was referring to my other grandmother.



Yep, they were lined up on the window sill behind the sink. She had so many plants up there you might not have seen them.


----------



## Gemmi

greyhound said:
			
		

> Coat them with flour that has been salted and fry in oil. The old way is to fry them in bacon grease. They are so sweet.




TY!


----------



## Ponytail

nomoney said:
			
		

> Or put them in a brown paper bag, the speeds up the ripening as well.


That's what I've always done, especially at the end of the season, before the plant dies.


----------



## SamSpade

Well, did the brown paper sack thing, with some green tomatoes. It's been almost two weeks - not even orange.

I give up. I can't figure out why they won't ripen, but I must be the only guy in the world who can't grow tomatoes, at least, not in this part of the yard.


----------



## kwillia

My tomatoes are ripening just fine....:shrug: And I have cucumbers out the waazoo...


----------



## Dutch6

SamSpade said:
			
		

> Well, did the brown paper sack thing, with some green tomatoes. It's been almost two weeks - not even orange.
> 
> I give up. I can't figure out why they won't ripen, but I must be the only guy in the world who can't grow tomatoes, at least, not in this part of the yard.


I have the same problem. Really big tomatoes but just as green as can be. Did we buy our plants in the same place?  But in the end I will finally get my fried green tomatoes!


----------



## SamSpade

kwillia said:
			
		

> My tomatoes are ripening just fine....:shrug: And I have cucumbers out the waazoo...


 
Ahhh - TMI!!
Actually, so do I. Eggplant, cukes,jalapenos. peppers, zucchini, onions, garlic, carrots. Little weak on the squash so far.

Actually, I have TOMATOES out the wazoo - just, no red ones. I cannot figure this one out. I read this one forum a few weeks back, and the stock answer was oh be patient, it takes a while, people complain about this right about this time. Well the same damned tomatoes are on the vine, and they are falling off, still green. And they're not ripening OFF the vine either.

Everyone I know is getting red tomatoes, including a buddy who has ONE tomato plant in a planter. So I just don't get it.


----------



## SamSpade

Dutch6 said:
			
		

> I have the same problem. Really big tomatoes but just as green as can be. Did we buy our plants in the same place?  But in the end I will finally get my fried green tomatoes!


 
I didn't get them all in the same place - but most of them were from Buckler's, including my other plants, which have grown just fine. I didn't get any red tomatoes LAST year, either, despite having about forty plants, of several different varieties.


----------

